Voodoo Lab Ground Control

When I first got this thing, I would never have said it was very easy to use, but once you get the hang of it, it's as easy as anything else. Just make sure you have a solid week set aside for setting it up and learning the manual, as it is helpful, but it will mostly take a lot of walking through the direction to get a good feel for it. I've had it for about 3 or 4 months and I'm still discovering new features, but that's not because it's extremely difficult, but because it's just that flexible. I find myself able to fly through saving new presets, and can even save them while playing with the rest of the band. you just have to get used to it.

I didn't buy this thing to help with my sound quality, and chances are, you aren't either. I bought it with the GCX to be able to switch between various combinations of effects with a single tap of a switch. However, I did notice a HUGE improvement of my tone because of this thing (and the GCX) taking my pedals out of the signal chain, but it's not really because of the controller.

I have been able to gig with it 4 times. 2 of those times were for an hour and a half gig set to a click track, so the last thing I wanted to be worried about was this thing messing up on me. it didn't let me down in the least, and made everything flow smoothly. the other 2 times were local 20 minute shows where I had to be somewhat on the fly, and it held it's ground just as well.

I sent them an email before I bought it asking a technical question. they got back to me promptly and answered my question. no complaints.

This thing is really great. if someone stole it, I would be pretty mad and track them down. maybe not, but I would certainly buy another one if funds were available. The only thing I might wish for, is for one of the expression pedal inputs to accept a tap tempo so I didn't have to assign one of the "Instant Access" buttons to do it. but so far, it hasn't been that big of a deal. It has been a bigger help to my performance than a hindrance, which is all you can really ask for right? I have been very inspired by using the ground control because there are so many possibilities as to what you can do with it.

Here I am talking about Ground Control Pro and GCX. In fact GC Pro is a Digital Music Corp. product of 2001. Serial number #127. It is quite easy to pre-program and very to use later on. Of course it is that easy when you know what for you have got it and what it is for. Manual is okay, but the practice is much easier than it seems. I have replaced the eprom chip installed inside with a new one for the latest firmware version 1.13(?) as it was suggested by the manufacturer. The logic of programming and further use of GC Pro is very clear. Being connected with Voodoo Lab GCX guitar audio switcher it enables me to totally control my rig in real time with crazy flexibility and simplicity.

Currently I play EBMM Axis Super Sport MM90, Heritage H-150 thru the rack into Mesa Rect-o-verb 50 combo. The rack includes Voodoo Lab GCX, Mesa TriAxis preamp, Area 51 Fuzz Buffer Mod Wah, vintage EHX Electric Mistress flanger, Dunlop Uni-Vibe chorus/vibrato, OohLaLa Quicksilver delay, Roland GP-100 multi FX processor, Korg DTR1 tuner, H&K Red box. All these units are connected to GCX and controlled with GC Pro from the ground. I have added GCX/GC Pro link to my gear in the last turn. So I can say that the true bypass was really added to the signal path and the tone got more transparent. Each effect can be judged now very clearly (in case it is engaged alone) as far as no any other pedal or unit affects the sound.

I hope it is reliable enough as I have seen it in rigs of world top class guitarists. The GC Pro is made of steel and looks water and dust proof for use in terms of gigs, road practice. I use it in studio now but in plans Im gonna take it to club scenes.

I did contacted Voodoo Lab many times. Every time I sent e-mail it was answered the same or the next day! I was given all the necessary info and the supplying parts (eprom chip, power adapters, GC Pro button board) in shortest terms possible. I should notice that I felt myself an important customer every time I had asked for anything. Personally I would like to thank Ms. Harmony Ellis, office manager. She knows everything about the products and often helped me to get what I really needed. Super customer care!

I do some studio recordings in different styles. The GCX/Ground Control Pro wraps my my rig around and let me reach reach its depths for any parameter supposed to control with wire. It helps to create the patterns for immediate rig switching.Very cool indeed!

I play in a group that requires a lot of different tones, i had a monster pedal board, all the greatest stuff, etc, but i was falling all over myself on stage. I got the ground control and the GCX and ive never looked back. This is defintely not a plug and play system, i did a lot of research and ive been a tech as well as aplayer for 8 years. Getting setup is quite a challenge many leave to the pros. You have to make a lot of cable and it all has to be right or it doest work. But... once you get it set up, using the unit is very easy. the manual explain very simpoly how to do all the steps and once my cable was run, i was a pro at the unit's functions in about an hour. The guys at Vooodoo labs are very nice, and they know all there is to know. I'm a touring musician and this is the only unit that can do what it does, and its really easy to use, i can even change my presets on stage.

Iplay mostly a hollow tele with humbuckes, but i also have a Baker Robben Ford. Im using a bogner Shive and a fender twin, mostly bogner though with this rig. This unti really brings out the sound of each item being added, and it allows everything else not being used to be truly bipassed. My rig is all analog so i have individual axcess to each pedal as well as presets for running the pedals and my amp channels as well as some other latch functions. The sound is huge compared to before and each effect sounds cleaner and more refined. There are no clips pops or noises when switching and the true bypass really allows you to feel like your plugged directly into the amp.

I use this everytime i play, im a pro muscian in LA, i use it for recording, all my groups live stuff, all the time. It fires up every time, no problems, i used good cable (no George L!!!) and spent my time on it and everything works great. It has a good warranty as well.

All the guys at Voodoo Labs were the best i could ask for, i had to speak with them a few times about some complex wiring i was trying to do and they helped until we figured the problem out. Very knoledgable, very friendly. They get a lot of questions and they took their time with me.

I play in a very eclectic group branshing from blues and funk to Progressive rock, metal, jazz and fusion so i need a lot out of my equipment. This unti has really soved my problems, i have one button acces to all my sounds and it really allows me to concentrate on what im playing rather than if i hit the right buttons or not. The setup took a while, but i was exspecting that. It easy to see on stage, easy to work and the sound quality is far superior to anything i had used before. Dont be fooled, this is a pro unit, made for peope who know their gear and how to manipulate it. if you need to control lots of stuff, sound good and be easily changed on the fly, this baby does it all.

I am using the Ground Control with the GCX rack device. When I first got it I was very disappointed and got even angry, because nothing was working the way I wanted it. Then I called Voodoolab and got some very friendly help. Then I started to understand how the GXC is setup and I got more and more exited about its possibilities.
You can do about everything you desire but you need the time to look into it. The manual is not that great but the guys at Voodoolab are a great help.

The sound quality is very good - there is sometimes a slight click when changing channels on my G-Force but I guess that's the G-Force not the GCX.
I am using lots of differnt guitars like PRS, Ibanez, Gibson and Fender. My effectrack consists of a Dunlop Wah Cry Baby (rack device), Alesis Compression, TC-electronics GForce, Rocktron Hush Super C and the GCX. All this gear is loop with the GCX.
Amps I am using 2 sytems: 1) Randall RT4 with R2-50 and 2) Triaxis and Mesa Boogie 2:90. They are also hoocked up to the GCX so I can use the Randall system or the Boogie or both at the same time by only using 1 button on the Ground Controll.

I haven't used it a lot so far but it looks very solid and well built.

As I said in the beginning I really had a hard time to get started.
I called John and he explaned me everything I needed to know.
Also email is working fine.

To conclude my submission I must say it is not cheap but it is worth every penny. I play guitar for a living and am doing this for 20 years. I got tons of gear and I am very glad to have only one pedalboard on stage now instead of the 3 I used to have! Before I was using the Rocktron midimate and the Behringer FCB as well as the R4 Footswitch from Randall.

Complex but extremely functional. The manual is pretty good, but not perfect. Documentation on most complex units is not very well written.
Once it is set up, it is very easy to use. The fact that you can name the patches is why I bought it. I hate numbers for patches. Who can remember what a number means.

I have NEVER had a problem with this unit. This is the first model, not the newer one. I have been stomping on this for years with no problems.

Very easy to use.

This thing is the best midi switcher out there, and I have used a couple.

SUPER DURABLE - I have had mine for years, and have never ever had a problem with it.

I have never really had to deal with them, So I can not reallly comment on this.

If you are looking for the best Midid switcher out there, well then get a Ground Control. They work great and you can expand with them also. (like the GCX loop switcher, Stereo mixer, ect....)

Very easy to use, user friendly even.

It makes very little sound when you step on it, kind of a click type of thing.

I did have a problem with it when I first got it, some of the display burned out, but they sent me a replacement in less than a week and it hasn't had one hickup in over a year now.

Liek I said, one week turnaround for it = good.

This is pretty much the standar for anyone using a tri-axis and a 2:90. The only problem I found was gettin the pwer run from the tri axis to the ground control in whish pro-co had to make me a custom midi cable for the 7-5 pin conversion, but no real big deal there. The only thing I would change on it would be lighted numbers and letters on the pedals themselves, seems kind of weird they would light the display but not what you are actually going to spet on, but oh well.

I'm a guitar playerand I've been using the DMC Ground Control for five years, and the first thing that stroke me was how easily I could hook it up with all my MIDI gear:it took me about a couple of hours to get all the things to work properly, and the easy and intuitive software, not to mention that big bright LCD display, was a real godsend. Also I find it really user friendly in the way I can configure it for my live setup, I can save patches in it using one bank for each song, or preset my sounds so that I can access them very easily, since each bank is composed of 10 memory locations. I've used it on countless gigs, and I never run into any kind of trouble with its soft switches; one suggestion: mount it on a pedalboard, and be sure to firmwire the cables to hook up the two controller pedals, otherwise you're going to wrap your guitar cable around them and risk to damage something. The manual is quite good and detailed, even thought I didn't have to browse it a lot to get the thing working.

My setup is composed of a Mesa/Boogie Triaxis preamp, a Mesa/Boogie 90:90 power amp, a Lexicon MPX 1 effects processor, a Rocktron Replifex effects processor, a Dbx 166 Compressor/gate and a Roland GR 50 Guitar Synth; It took me very little time to program the Ground Control and to hook it up to all thet stuff; I definitely love the two controller inputs that let me use my favorite expression pedals to send MIDI controls to my rack modules: I play ambient music and being able to do volume swells and real time modifications to my effects is crucial to my sound. The only complain about it is I'd like it to have more controller inputs for expression pedals (two for me are a little short!).

It's a very tough unit, considering the fact that you have to stomp on it; it only once gave me a problem : since I move it a lot for gigs, somehow it started malfunctioning (after the first year and a half of use) like it was shorting out: once I got it fixed it never happened again; Considering it's the core of my setup (it controls everything) I'm depending on it, but I'm gigging without a backup, a) it's a little pricey, b) it's not easy to find it in my country).

I never dealt with the company for it, anyway I'm planning to buy another of their products so I'm in contact with them, and they' re really friendly and kind to all my requests: I inundated them with e-mails, and they always answered right back.

I play ambient and other syles including progressive rock; the GC is the centerpiece of my setup, since it can control up to eight MIDI devices simultaneously;If stolen I 'd definitely try to find another one, since, after five years of use , I really developed a style of switching and pedalling based upon it. Compared to other products available i think that even if it's a little less diffused (I've actually seen only another one other than mine, which I raccomanded a friend of mine to buy)it's really a top notch product: I've tried others like Rolls MIDI buddy and ART Ultrafoot, but they were more like toys to me. It could have a little more MIDI continuous controller inputs, since it's designed to control lots of devices, but it definitely helps me in keeping my system under control.